Commercial Space Launch Complex Site Selection Completed

Maritime Launch Services (MLS) Ltd., established in Halifax, is pleased to announce it has committed to a launch site location following a study of prospective sites across North America. An exhaustive review was conducted which assessed 14 potential locations over the last year. The preferred site is located in the Guysborough Municipality near Canso and Hazel Hill in Nova Scotia, Canada and would host a commercial launch complex for the Cyclone 4M orbital launch vehicle from Ukraine. The criteria evaluated through the study included access to polar/sun synchronous orbit, very low population density, proximity to multimodal transportation, and interest from the community, province and government.

Vernon Pitts, Warden of the Municipality of Guysborough said, “We are pleased that Maritime Launch Services has chosen to invest in our community and we look forward to continued dialogue. Since we were first introduced to this development a few months ago we have been impressed with the proponents’ approach, and we will continue to work collaboratively with MLS as the project evolves.”

Recent site visits and meetings in Nova Scotia and Ottawa, Ontario by a delegation from MLS and Yuzhnoye were decisive in the final site selection in large part due to the enthusiastic support from the community, academia and multiple levels of provincial and federal government. John Isella, CEO of MLS, said “While we have a number of challenges ahead to work through the regulatory processes, approvals and site planning, we are optimistic that we can break ground on the launch complex within a year and meet market demands with our first launch in 2020.” MLS plans to achieve a launch rate of eight per year by 2022.

With the growing global demand for space launch services, MLS will bring the mature space launch technology of Yuzhnoye and Yuzhmash in Ukraine to Nova Scotia. “Building on the historically close ties between Canada and Ukraine, and addressing the satellite constellation launch market with an all Ukrainian medium class (3350kg to SSO) launch service targeted at $45 million USD, are a few of the fundamental strengths of this program,” Isella said. “The timing is perfect for this venture. Ukraine’s independent space industry, and the solid market for these launch services all add to our confidence in this program. The Cyclone 4M rocket will become the standard of the medium class space launch industry.” Yuzhnoye and Yuzhmash in Ukraine, the providers of the launch vehicle, have been in operation for 62 years, launched 875 rockets, and built and launched over 400 spacecraft.

Initial funding was obtained in 2016 from United PARADYNE Corporation (UPC) in Santa Maria, CA. Mr. Joe Hasay, President/CEO of UPC, said “This program is just what UPC has been seeking in order to expand into commercial space launch operations.” UPC is a founding partner in MLS, and will bring extensive experience to launch site operations and satellite customer support.